Huntly Development Trust (HDT), a not-for-profit community organisation, is looking for a likeminded partner, with a track-record in food service, to run its café in No30, the former Cruickshank’s department store.
The historic building, which fronts Huntly square, was acquired by HDT in 2019 after securing funding through the Aberdeenshire Town Centre Fund to buy the premises. The development of the building is underway and will include a café bar/restaurant, a 60-seat cinema and performance complex, a music venue, coworking space, retail facilities, and wellbeing and fitness areas.
HDT is looking for a catering provider that can embrace the Trust’s commitment to reinvigorating the town square for the community and achieving net zero.
Carolyn Powell, HDT’s Town Centre Development Manager, said: “We’re looking for someone who is passionate about the opportunity to be part of a wave of development in Huntly’s square, who is committed to employing local people, sourcing food from local suppliers and has an environmentally sustainable approach to their business.”
The café facilities in No30 will be in a prominent position, with street access, at the front of the building leading onto the square. The floor area totals 160m2, it will have an equipped kitchen and servery/bar including ample storage areas.
Ms Powell adds that “it is an exciting time for Huntly, with three major buildings in and around the Square that have been bought and are being refurbished ahead of opening new businesses within them, and along with the recently opened Orb’s Bookshop and Deveron Projects Square Deal building, the centre of town is undergoing huge transformation.”
Huntly Development Trust are inviting expressions of interest and want to know about your experience of running a cafe bar, events or a catering business, your experience of managing staff, your passion for food, and how you see your business working in partnership with HDT.
Huntly is in the heart of northeast Scotland where there is a rich larder of fresh ingredients, including beef, lamb, seafood and dairy produce. The town has a long relationship with food and local produce and is home to Dean’s Shortbread and Rizza’s Ice cream
Huntly Development Trust has also invested in two other buildings in Huntly town as well as a 63-acre farm on which there is a wind turbine generating income for the community and where the farmhouse has been converted for use as a meetings and events space.
Anyone interested in submitting a tender should contact Carolyn Powell. The closing date for expressions of interest, via a pre-qualification questionnaire, is 1 July 2022, businesses selected to submit a tender will be agreed by 31 July and the contract will be awarded to the successful applicant by 28 November 2022.